TUIfly

Is TUIfly safe?

Yes. TUIfly has never had a fatal accident, counting its Hapag-Lloyd years, and it has not written offHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary an aircraft since 2000. It flies under the German LBA within the EU's EASA system and, unlike its British sister TUI Airways, it holds IOSA registrationIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary. We score it 87, ahead of Condor and Marabu, its rivals on German holiday routes.

The weak point is the fleet. Most of TUIfly's 22 or so Boeing 737s are older -800s, and the newer 737-8s arrived more slowly than planned.

Which TUI airline is this?

This page covers TUIfly GmbH, based at Hanover airport in Langenhagen, with the code X3. It flies holiday routes from Germany, mostly for TUI's tour operator. TUI Group's other airlines each hold their own certificate: TUI Airways (BY) in the UK, TUI fly Belgium (TB), TUI fly Netherlands (OR) and TUIfly Nordic (6B) in Sweden. TUI told aeroTELEGRAPH in 2023 that it does not plan to merge them.

That matters on long-haul trips. From summer 2027 TUI plans a Düsseldorf to Curaçao route with a Boeing 787, but the aircraft and crew come from TUI fly Netherlands, so the Dutch certificate applies.

Has TUIfly had any accidents?

TUIfly was formed in 2006 and 2007 from Hapagfly, the former Hapag-Lloyd Flug, and the low-cost Hapag-Lloyd Express. We treat Hapag-Lloyd Flug as the same airline, so its record counts here.

Its worst day was 12 July 2000. An Airbus A310 leaving Chania for Hanover could not fully retract its right main landing gear. The crew flew on with the gear down, which burns much more fuel, and first planned to divert to Munich, then to Vienna. About 12 nm short of the runway both engines stopped. The crew restarted one briefly and reached the airport, but the A310 landed in the grass 500 metres short, lost its left main gear and slid for 600 metres. Nobody died. Austria's investigators found the crew had not followed the company's fuel reserve rules, under extreme workload and stress. The aircraft was written offHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary.

The Aviation Safety Network data hold nothing damaging for TUIfly since. Back in 1985, severe clear-air turbulence over Portugal threw a standing passenger to the floor of a Hapag-Lloyd 737 and broke his leg.

Which incidents should passengers know about?

TUIfly's record since 2016 is mostly technical faults handled by the book, with a few events worth knowing:

• Sonderborg, October 2016. A 737-800 turning on the runway's turn pad to line up put its right main gear off the paved surface. The small Danish airport closed for about 27 hours and the 185 passengers went by bus to Hanover.
• Montenegro, April 2019. Radio contact was lost during the handover between Belgrade and Tirana control. NATO sent two Italian Eurofighters; TUIfly said the crew had restored contact before they arrived.
• Frankfurt, October 2023. The crew rejected a take-off at 88 knots when a tyre failed. Germany's BFU found one tyre had too little pressure, so its neighbour carried the full load and failed as well. The BFU classed it as an incident, not a serious incident.
• Heraklion, October 2024. A 737 had what AeroInside described as an unusual runway contact on landing. TUIfly said no part of the wing touched the runway.

How old is TUIfly's fleet?

Older than it was meant to be. In May 2023 TUIfly had 23 aircraft: 17 Boeing 737-800s and 6 737 MAX 8s (aeroTELEGRAPH). By February 2025 the German aviation blog Frankfurtflyer counted 15 737-800s, averaging about 13.5 years, and 7 MAX 8s. In 2019 the airline had planned 25 MAX jets by 2023, but the grounding and Boeing's delivery delays slowed the switch. TUI Group had 45 MAX jets across its airlines by September 2025; TUI itself does not publish how many fly in Germany or how old they are. The 737-800 has a long and good record; an older aircraft needs more maintenance, not less trust.

Tips for TUIfly passengers

• Read the operator line. A TUI package from Germany can put you on TUIfly, another TUI airline or a hired aircraft. The booking says who operates the flight.
• Allow for Funchal. Madeira's runway is one of Europe's hardest approaches, and flights divert in strong winds. Pack medicines and essentials in your hand luggage.

How we scored it

The accident record (93) is strong for an airline of this size: no deaths in its history, and a write-offHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary 26 years ago. German oversight with IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary scores 90. Incidents score 82, a quiet record next to TUI Airways. The fleet (74) is the lowest factor, and the network scores 84.